TJX boosts dividend by more than 13%, to buy back up to $2.5 billion in stock this fiscal year

Shares of TJX Companies Inc. rallied 3.7% in afternoon trading Tuesday, after the discount apparel and home fashions retailer raised its dividend by 13.5% and announced plans to repurchase up to $2.5 billion worth of stock in the current fiscal year. The new quarterly dividend of 29.5 cents a share, up from 26 cents a share, will be payable June 2 to shareholders of record on May 12. At current stock prices, the new annual dividend rate implies a dividend yield of 1.84%, compared with the yield for the SPDR Consumer Discretionary ETF of 0.57% and the implied yield for the S&P 500 of 1.38%. Separately, the company said it expects to buy back $2.25 billion to $2.50 billion during fiscal 2023. “These actions underscore our confidence in our ability to continue delivering profitable sales and strong cash flow, which enables us to simultaneously reinvest in the growth of the business and return significant value to our shareholders,” said Chief Executive Ernie Herrman. TJX shares have dropped 15.3% year to date, while the consumer discretionary ETF has shed 6.2% and the S&P 500 has slipped 3.0%.

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